Definition:
The part of speech (or word class) that describes an action or occurrence or indicates a state of being. See also: All About Verbs.
Types and Forms of Verbs:- Auxiliary Verb
- Base Form of a Verb
- Catenative Verb
- Causative Verb
- Copula
- Dynamic Verb & Stative Verb
- Finite Verb & Nonfinite Verb
- Intransitive Verb & Transitive Verb
- Irregular Verb & Regular Verb
- Linking Verb
- Modal
- Performative Verb
- Phrasal Verb
- Prepositional Verb
Etymology:
From the Latin, "word"Examples and Observations:
- "A better way to recognize the verb . . . is by its form, its -s and -ing ending; verbs also have an -ed and an -en form, although in the case of some irregular verbs these forms are not readily apparent. And every verb, without exception, can be marked by auxiliaries."
(M. Kolln, Understanding English Grammar, Allyn and Bacon, 1998) - "Clothes make the man. Naked people have little or no influence on society."
(Mark Twain) - "Do what you can, with what you have, where you are."
(Theodore Roosevelt) - "First you take a drink, then the drink takes a drink, then the drink takes you."
(F. Scott Fitzgerald) - "In the whole vast configuration of things, I'd say you were nothing but a scurvy little spider."
(Jimmy Stewart, It's a Wonderful Life) - "Automobiles, skirting a village green, are like flies that have gained the inner ear--they buzz, cease, pause, start, shift, stop, halt, brake, and the whole effect is a nervous polytone curiously disturbing."
(E.B. White, "Walden") - "Behind the phony tinsel of Hollywood lies the real tinsel."
(Oscar Levant) - "Some people say that I must be a terrible person, but it is not true. I have the heart of a young boy in a jar on my desk."
(Stephen King) - "Most metaphysical words in Hopi are verbs, not nouns as in European languages."
(Benjamin Whorf) - "Don't you dare use 'party' as a verb in my shop."
(Dylan Moran, Black Books)
Pronunciation: vurb
Also Known As: verb phrase
